Ullin, Illinois
440 Students

Century Community Unit School District 100, located in southern Illinois, had been using a DOS-based system since the early 1990s. The system was outdated, hard to use and had many glitches. After years of frustration, Century 100 decided it was time to look for a new student information system (SIS).

Challenges
Leslie Goines, Century 100 Dean of Students and Guidance Counselor, experienced many issues with the previous system. “I would spend an entire afternoon updating schedules and transcripts, and the system would not save my work and/or would delete students. Only ‘privileged’ staff could access the system and enter data, so everything submitted by teachers was in paper form. It was time-consuming, frustrating and the district needed a change FAST,” said Goines.

A team of staff and administrators from Century 100 researched different products, spoke with multiple SIS vendors, and reached out to other school districts in the area for advice.

“We explored what other districts were using by talking to their administrators, staff and teachers. We learned about Infinite Campus and immediately became excited,” explained Goines.

Solution
In 2009, Century 100 chose Infinite Campus as their fully integrated, Web-based SIS. “I truly love how Campus can be used in so many different facets. I am able to be more proactive, seek information immediately and use the information to better serve the student,” said Goines.

The Campus Portal has improved the staff’s ability to communicate with parents and students. All students have their own login to the portal and are given training on how to navigate through the system.
According to Goines, “Students have really embraced the opportunity to monitor their grades and attendance with the Campus Portal. Many greet me in the hallways by saying, ‘Did you see my grade in English? I can't believe I actually aced that test!’"

The Campus Mobile Portal can be accessed from an Apple® iOS or Android® device. With an intuitive interface, parents and students can easily access grades, attendance, assignments and schedule information in real time.

Additionally, teachers at Century 100 use the Instructional Management tools to upload assignments and resources via the Campus Portal. These teacher tools are fully integrated with the core system and are included at no additional cost.

Campus Instructional Management tools:

1. Assignment Submission - post and receive assignments via the Campus Portal.
2. Standards Bank - update fields en masse and post to transcripts.
3. Assignment Resources - upload videos and MP3s to assignments.
4. Digital Repository - set up a universal catalog of learning resources via the cloud system.
5. Online Assessment - create test questions, align them to standards, pull questions from the cloud, and deliver tests through the Campus Portal.

“There is so much teachers can do with the teacher tools that drive their instruction. Let Infinite Campus do it for you… it’s unreal,” said Goines.

Century 100 chose to add Campus Messenger with Voice to their system. Within 15 minutes of a crisis, it will notify all stakeholders in the district, regardless of the district size.

Parent and guardian telephone numbers are extracted from Campus in real time and voice messages are distributed en masse. It’s integrated with the system, so contact information is always up-to-date.

For non-emergencies, Century 100 delivers communications via email, phone or text messaging. Authorized staff can send out messages from anywhere with Internet.

Results
Century 100 has seen many positive changes in their district as a result of using Infinite Campus.

“I can't reiterate the return on investment that has been obtained with time alone. Campus has truly helped our staff better serve students. It has been a great gift for the community. We use it as a constant communication tool,” explained Goines.

Campus Messenger with Voice and the Campus Portal increase school-to-home communication. The use of the Instructional Management tools improves student interactivity. Teachers have the resources to break away from the traditional classroom experience. According to Goines, “Infinite Campus is worth the price and truly helps our district function better. I can’t imagine what my job would be like without it!”